After the burn

Offices with the US Geological Survey plan to release a report that assesses the risks of erosion in areas affected by the Station and Sheep fires, reports Guy McCarthy at Watershed News:

The need for timely and accurate assessment of post-fire dangers was underscored on Christmas Day 2003, when torrential rains on burned watersheds unleashed flash floods and debris flows that killed 16 people -- including nine children -- in Waterman and Cable canyons just outside the city of San Bernardino.

"The urbanized areas below the Station Fire are of course a focus of the report," [USGS project manager Sue] Cannon said. "But as we learned in 2003, the interior canyons are especially vulnerable."